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When Leo Met Mona
Chapter Seven: Mating Habits of the Mutant Turtle
April had asked her to meet for coffee and Mona Lisa jumped at the chance to talk with the turtles' possibly only other human friend. She had so many questions.
As it turned out, so did April. Each wanted to know how the other met the turtles. Mona told her story first, though remained vague on the details that Leonardo had actually witnessed her lose her absolute shit on her attacker. Then April told her about her father, about where the turtles came from. How they were named, how they were mutated. How she loved them as a child and how she found them again as an adult.
As she spoke, she realized Mona's eyes were getting larger and larger
"You didn't know any of this, did you?"
Mona shook her head and looked down. "Leo and I sort of lived with this 'don't ask don't tell' policy for a long time. We're more open with each other now, but it's like we've lived this way for so long, I don't even think about asking him questions. I don't know what questions to ask him."
April regarded her for a moment and then sipped her drink. "Well, if you want to know anything about them and you're not comfortable asking the guys, you can always ask me. I want the two of us to have an open dialog." She leaned in. "Having them in our lives can be a lot sometimes and it's nice to have someone to talk to about it with."
"Yes! I would love that!" Mona agreed with eagerness and relief. "Can I ask about your relationships with them? How long you've known them? What you think of them?"
"Wow, just everything, huh?" April joked back.
"Sorry, is that too much? I'm still learning and you've known them for a while and you're important to them. I'm assuming they're important to you, too."
April gave a dainty snort. "Yeah, the four giant little brothers I never asked for."
"I want to hear about them in your words. You've known them for a long time now, right?"
April thoughtfully brushed hair from her face. "So I met them when they were seventeen and now they're twenty-two. So it's been...wow, has it really been six years?"
"So you must know them well."
"Yeah, I mean, well enough. We've got Donnie who's a total sweetheart. Has a mind like a steel strap. Never forgets a thing. Always texts me on my birthday. There's Mikey who, you know, what you see is what you get. He's good people with a terrible mouth."
Mona smirked. "Yeah, I saw that rubber bands you make him wear. What's up with that?"
April paused as if not sure she wanted to be honest. But then went ahead. "When I saw you, what you and Leo have, I thought maybe the others might have that too one day. So Mike needs to learn how to talk to women like they're fucking people so he doesn't screw it up. He's got a good heart, he's just...such a dumbass. No filter. It's like when words come out of his mouth both he and us are hearing it for the first time."
Mona laughed. "Yeah, that sounds about right. Though I think he does it on purpose to piss off his brothers. Maybe when he finds someone he really cares about he'll know to treat them with respect."
"God willing." April crossed her fingers. "Okay, so that's Mikey. Then we've got Raph." Her mouth ticked up and Mona instantly knew who April's favorite was. "Raph's just...Raph's my guy. He's always checking up on me, making sure I'm safe. He's a really good listener. He'll let me vent without trying to solve my problems for me. We talk a lot on the phone. Raph and me, we're just tight."
"Sounds like you've got a crush."
April snorted loudly. "No. God, no. I told you, they're like my little brothers. They're family. I couldn't feel that way about any of them. Plus I'm kinda...dating this guy Casey. Sort of on and off. It's a whole thing."
"Does this Casey know about the turtles?"
"Yeah. He comes around now and then. All the guys give him a lot of shit so he isn't always happy to see them. He and Raph get along pretty good though, actually. And any guy Raph approves of is a big deal."
"That's cute. He is like your brother."
"Yeah." April paused and then decided to get the conversation back in the direction she wanted. "So that leaves Leo. He's always been a bit of a tough nut to crack for me. Polite, respectful, but a bit emotionally distant. I think you should be the one to tell me about him. I was so surprised that he out of all of them was the one to bring a girl home. Sometimes, I don't know if he even likes people. Humans, I mean."
Mona sipped her coffee as she thought about how Leonardo was when they first met. It had only been about a year, but her life had changed so drastically since then—she had changed—that it seemed like a lifetime ago.
"Leonardo was definitely like that in the beginning. Distant, careful. But curious. I think his curiosity kept him coming back. Though I still don't know what he found so interesting about me. He was so stiff the first few times he came over. I did everything I could think of to make him comfortable. Eventually, he started to relax. After having met his brothers, I wonder if he kept showing up because he liked the quiet."
April gave her a knowing look. "I don't think it's the quiet he keeps going back for."
Mona raised her brows, not backing down from that accusation. "Oh, you can just say what you meant to say."
April's coy facade fell away and the reporter's tone changed. "Look, I've seen the way he is with you, how he looks at you. If you're leading him on in any way—"
"Why would I lead him on? He's my favorite person in the whole world."
The unexpected response chased any follow up questions out of April's brain for a moment. "So you're legit into him."
"I guess so. You probably think it's weird."
April quickly waved her off. "I'm not judging. I mean I've always hoped there would be someone for my guys. Someone they each could love. Someone who loved them back, made them happy, you know? Their someones would be human. There's no other option for them. It's not like there's another lair down there with four girl mutant turtles."
"Wouldn't that be something?" Mona laughed. "Four girl versions of the guys: the leader, the genius, the baby sister and the muscle. And they all neatly pair up with each other, perfectly with their clones because that's how real life relationships work, right?"
"You say that because you would be jealous," April teased.
"Or maybe I'd be attracted to them, too," Mona snorted back. "Lesbians with the Girl-Leo one. Who knows. I've been finding out all sorts of weird shit about my preferences lately."
"I'm happy for you," April replied neutrally. She paused and then said. "Since we're talking about weird personal shit, can I ask you something?"
"With that set up, anything," Mona grinned. "The weirder the better." She was enjoying this game.
April leaned in as if to offer a secret. "What does it look like?"
"What does what look like?"
"You know. IT."
It still took her a few moments of watching April's emphatic expression before she got the implication.
"Oh! That. I have no idea. Never seen it."
April leaned back in her chair, disappointed. "I would have guessed you've seen him naked by now."
"Oh, I've seen them all naked. We went hot-tubbing in the lair and they just took off all their clothes and got in. The shells cover everything. Nothing hangs out."
"Eww, you went in that big soaking tub they have? That thing is gross."
"They said they cleaned it. It seemed fine when I was there."
April remained making a bit of a face. "So you've never seen it."
"Nope. Though I'm sure if you really wanted to know, you could just ask Michelangelo. I bet he'd show you."
April nearly choked on her coffee. "Oh my God. He probably would."
"See? You don't need me to be the middle man. Go out there and see some glorious turtle penis for yourself."
April hunched a bit when Mona said "glorious turtle penis" a little too loud, but was also trying to school her grin because both women were aware the topic was ridiculous.
"Okay, well on that subject, the whole reason I asked to talk is because spring will be coming and I'm guessing by that blank expression, you have no idea what that means."
Mona was still in a joking mood. "Do they fumigate the lair and stay at your place for a week?"
"Oh, I wish they did that. There's spiders everywhere down there. No. It's spring, you know? Like animals act a certain way in the spring?"
Mona just looked confused. "I'm not following."
"Like the birds and the bees kind of spring time?"
Mona wrinkled her nose, but still wasn't getting it.
"Like it's baby-making season kind of spring?"
Mona snorted. "What are you talking about? Like they go into heat or something?"
"I do not like the way you just worded that. But you're not wrong."
"I'm not liking this whole conversation. Are you saying they're going to get super horny all spring?" Mona tried to think back to last spring. She had known Leonardo by then, but they weren't up to weekly visits. He maybe came by twice a month and the days were random and without warning. She couldn't recall any time that spring where she felt he was acting weird in that way.
"They're always horny, they're boys," April said. "But their hormones go all wacky. Not all spring though, more like around two weeks-ish. When that starts, you'll want to make yourself scarce."
A unique kind of anxiety slithered up into Mona's chest. "Am I...not safe around them?"
April's eyes widened. "Oh, no. God, no, not like that. I've been down in the lair right in the middle of it—not on purpose—but I wasn't in any danger. They're completely in control of their faculties at all times. But they were just SO cranky and...weirdly kinda sweaty? And there was this SMELL. I bet if you took a black light down there the place would light up like it was Christmas."
"Gross," Mona coughed, half in humor and half in disgust.
"That year they all pretty much told me in so many words to get the fuck out and not come back for a while. I just thought I would be a friend and give you a heads up that this is something that happens. No one gave me a heads up the first time, that's for sure. I had to listen to THEM try to explain it to me. And these guys were maybe eighteen at the time."
"Oh my God," Mona choked with glee. "What did they say?"
"Donnie had a Power Point presentation. It lasted over an hour. They were twitchy and anxious. All of them were sweating and breathing weird the entire time. I didn't come back until the summer."
"Holy shit." With each sentence, Mona had to try harder and harder to hold back her laughter. She was failing miserably and by the end, she was in stitches. "Stop, stop. My sides! I can't breathe!"
"Oh it's funny now. It wasn't funny then," April insisted.
It still took a while before Mona could stop laughing long enough to put a full sentence together. She had to wipe the tears from her eyes more than once.
When she had finally composed herself she said, "So how do I know when this is starting? What do I do?"
"I can tell you all the tricks. I've got it down to a science by now. The guys don't necessarily all start at the same time, but as long as I've known them, Leo always starts first. And you'll know it's coming because he's going to suddenly start cleaning everything. Like obsessively deep cleaning. Like it's his job. Not always, but most of the time Raph starts next. Raph likes to move furniture around."
"Why?"
April shrugged. "I dunno. He can't push around any girl turtles, might as well expend that energy pushing around furniture. I've seen Donnie obsess over the organization of his lab. I think they're all just desperate for a distraction."
"So they...don't enjoy it."
"They hate it. They hate it so much. Like when I said they get cranky during this time, they get CRANKY. I tried to joke about it with them once and all four of them practically jumped down my throat."
"Okay, so no jokes. That's unfortunate. Jokes are always my go-to."
April raised her hands in surrender. "You can try it and see what happens, but I won't be held responsible."
"Okay." Mona let out a long breath. "Anything else I should know?"
"Um...let's see..Oh! You're probably going to get some texts. I'd tell you not to respond, but I feel like you're one of those girls who likes to fuck around and find out. So respond at your own peril, I guess."
Mona was absolutely intrigued. "What kind of texts do they send?"
"Raph sends sappy letters that are low key proposing marriage. I send him videos of cute baby animals and that seems to make him happy. Mike sends me absolute filth that will eventually taper into cute and romantic, then back to filth. Just send him a link to porn hub when he does this and he'll get the hint for a few days."
"Jesus."
"I always get a big apology when its all over as he categorically lists off all his crimes. Donnie just sends the absolute weirdest shit. It's always between 2 and 4 AM. I don't even know what to do with what he sends so I just don't respond. And then of course I get absolutely nothing from Leo because he's allergic to using his phone."
Mona found that fact to be disappointing. "Do you have any of those texts? I want to witness the insanity for myself."
"From a year ago? I'd really have to dig. Probably not."
More disappointment. "Will you show me the texts you get this year?"
April smirked. "Only if you show me yours."
Mona brightened. "I'm going to get texts?"
"Oh my God, they don't shut up about you. You're going to be in all their wet dreams; you're going to get texts. I guarantee it."
.
The month of April stormed in with rain and chilled winds. Even one day of snow. It wasn't until later in the month that it finally felt like spring might be around the corner.
During those cold days, Mona had never been invited back to the lair. Leonardo always came to her. She guessed it was at least in part due to her near-death experience. A part of her was tempted to see if she could find the lair on her own and just show up. She doubted any of them would kicked her out. But she decided she would wait for Leonardo to be comfortable enough to have her back.
It seemed these days that waiting on Leonardo's comfort was all she was doing. Their relationship changed since that night in the lair. Leonardo didn't come over once a week for just dinner and a movie anymore. Since Mona no longer worked nights, he came over a few nights a week for dinner and a heavy make out session during a movie.
But making out was about all they did. Lots of necking and heavy petting, as if they were a pair of teenagers instead of two consenting adults in their twenties. And mostly Leonardo was the only one allowed to decide where to put his mouth and hands. If Mona attempted to turn the tables, especially if she ever went for his pants, Leonardo would move her hands away or decide that he wanted to stop.
She always let him without any grudge. If he wasn't comfortable, she wasn't going to push it. Even as she ached for him. Even as she tried to imagine what it would be like to make love to him, to have him inside her.
Mostly, she just wanted to know why he had set a hard line. She wanted to know what was going on in his head. And she knew she could just ask him, but she hadn't brought herself to speak the words yet. She supposed a part of her still romanticized the version of him when his past was still a puzzle to her. She liked the mystery of Leonardo, and if she asked, the mystery would be over.
After a good make out session, they would lay quietly together on the mattress—her in various states of undress. Sometimes they would cuddle silently. Sometimes they would lay side by side watching the ceiling, talking about mundane things. Never anything too deep or important, even in this stage of their relationship.
From somewhere outside, two drunk male voices rose in argument. Though they didn't pose any threat, Leonardo sat up and stationed himself at the edge of the mattress, listening.
Mona lazily watched him in the pale blue light from the window. He was statuesque with his form so lovingly highlighted. A silhouette once alien in shape, now beloved. The stern ridge of his brow, the defined muscles of his arms and shoulders, the curve of his shell.
She languidly reached out a foot and dragged her toes down his arm. "You are so pretty."
His eyes swiveled in her direction before his head followed. He looked appalled. Absolutely offended she would dare say such a thing.
"What does that mean?"
She propped up her head with one hand, still appraising his skin with her toes. "I just like looking at you. You're pretty to look at."
He continued to frown.
"What? Is it a masculine thing? Guys can't be pretty?"
He looked away. "It's not like that. I'm not human."
"So it's a turtle thing. Turtles can't be pretty."
"Giant mutated turtles aren't pretty. That's not what people say when they see us."
"And that means I'm not allowed to see all the beautiful things about you, Leonardo?"
He looked away. Mona crawled for him and sat herself between his upturned knees. He watched her, but did not engage. Even as she leaned in and slowly adored his face with slow kisses. He merely closed his eyes and humbly took the affection.
Then she pulled back, running a hand down his chest. "Is that why you don't let me touch you that much? Or why you always stop me when I get to here?" Her finger hooked into the waistband of his pants.
He didn't meet her gaze. "I don't know. That's probably part of it."
"Will you talk to me about it?"
She waited for him as he took his time to think about the answer. When his blue eyes finally met hers, she saw a helpless fear in them and it broke her heart a little.
"I'm not human," he repeated. He removed her hand from his waistband. "No part of me is human. None of it."
"I see. And why does human have to be the default? Why is human good and being a turtle is bad?"
"You're human."
"I am."
"You deserve to be with a human man."
"So now it's about what I deserve."
"Isn't it? Don't you want better than this? Don't you want a man you can go outside with? Someone you can marry, who can support you financially. Buy you a house, give you children."
Her eyes widened a little. "Okay, that's a lot to unpack. I can honestly say I'm not worried about those things right now. Can we narrow it back down to just the intimacy? I'm a simple girl and all I want to know right now is why you won't take the pants off so I can bite those delicious thighs."
Leonardo snorted gracelessly in laughter. "What?"
She grinned at him. "There's my Leo. No need to be so serious with me. Just tell me what's up. What's so scary about being a turtle that you're trying to hide from me?"
He let out a heavy breath. "I really don't want to say."
"Just spit it out, Leo. I'm not going to stop bugging you until you tell me."
Now he looked annoyed. Good. Maybe he would be so annoyed with her he wouldn't care about her reaction.
He clenched his jaw, chewed on his lip before speaking. "It's just that...it's not—we aren't—it isn't...I don't think—" He stopped himself and took another deep breath. "We're not compatible. Physically. I'll end up hurting you."
"Why? Does it have barbs on it or something?"
He looked horrified. "What? No!"
"Oh good, because I think a spiked penis would have been a deal breaker for me."
Leonardo rubbed the bridge of his nose as if he were getting a headache. "Can we stop talking about this?"
"As soon as you tell me what the deal is. I still don't understand."
"Look, it's different, okay? My body is different. And we're not going to fit. It's too big."
"It's TOO BIG?!" she squealed, looking absolutely delighted.
He winced at the volume.
Mona quickly schooled herself again. She didn't want to embarrass him into clamming up. "Okay, well now you have to show it to me."
He actually pulled his legs tighter into himself. "I'm not showing it to you."
"Fine, then draw me a picture or something. I need to know what we're working with here."
"I'm not drawing you a picture!" His voice comically went up an octave.
"Fine. If you're going to make me do it, I'll ask your brother what it looks like."
"I don't think Donnie is going to—"
"I'm not going to ask Donnie, I'm asking Michelangelo."
His voice dropped to a dangerous tone. "Ramona, don't you dare."
"Desperate times, my dude. Desperate times."
Leonardo finally had enough. He huffed as he stood, forcing her to move out of the way of his larger form as he stalked off the few steps to the kitchen area and flipped on the light above the stove. He then proceeded to turn on the faucet and scrub the dishes in the sink. When that was done, he wiped down the counters, then proceeded to clean out the inside of the microwave.
Mona let him work silently. He often offered to do the dishes since she cooked. But this was the first time she'd seen him do more than that. He must really be pouting. Or he was mad at her. She was beginning to worry she had really pissed him off when he grabbed the broom and began sweeping.
A light bulb switched on in her brain and she grabbed her phone. It was only a little after ten, April should still be up. She quickly texted her.
I think it's starting! Leo's cleaning the hell out of my apartment!
Leonardo was already eyeing her pile of discarded laundry by the time April texted back.
It is starting to get warm out. Makes sense. You might want to send him home soon.
Mona smirked to herself and texted back: In a bit. I want to see if he'll scrub out my air fryer first.
April immediately responded. There's an idea. Send him over to clean my shower when he's done.
.
"You're back early."
Leonardo paused at Raphael's voice. He thought he could make it into the lair without being noticed, but he was busted.
Still, Leonardo gave his brother only a mild look. "The night ended early."
Raphael didn't look convinced. "You two get in a fight? She kick you out?"
Leonardo frowned at the accusations. He and Mona had a bit of a heated discussion before he went to sulk and clean in the kitchen. He wouldn't have called it a fight. But Mona Lisa had then said if he wanted to be a "sour ass" he could do that in his own home, so Leonardo had left.
"It's nothing."
The lair was so cluttered. Leonardo did not like clutter. He began picking up all the random things.
"Nothing, huh? What'd you two fight about?"
"There wasn't a fight. She was just pushing my buttons. She likes to do that sometimes. She thinks she's funny."
"Yeah, that's really tough having a girl that cares about you and shit. Let's you keep her bed warm. Your life is real hard, bro."
"Woah, Leo's home," Michelangelo announced as he wandered in. "What happened with you and Mona? You two break up? Cuz if she's single now..."
Leonardo growled in his throat. "We did not break up! I just came home early tonight! And it's a good thing I did! Look at this place! Can't you guys pick up after yourselves?"
The two brothers stared at him with twin realization.
"Leo, are you just tidying up or are you cleaning?" Raphael asked with meaning.
He paused to assess himself. He had almost this obsessive urge to control his environment. To change it into the way he wanted it: neat, tidy, organized. It was practically a need to put everything in order. This obsessive impulse only took him over once at a certain time each year.
"Shit," Leonardo groaned. He wasn't ready for it to start yet. He wanted more time. But there was nothing he could do.
Spring had come to New York.
.
It was only a week after Leonardo started his cleaning binge that Mona asked April if she wanted to get together and compare notes. It had been just as long since she had seen or talked to Leonardo and she was dying to know what was going on with them. She wanted to know what the four of them were up to, but at the same time, she did not want to go down to look for herself. April didn't have the same reservations as she played an audio file for Mona that sounded like someone was shooting a little toy laser gun.
"That's the sound of a baby alligator calling its mom," April told her. "I played this in the lair and all four of them came running to check it out."
"For a baby alligator?"
"I couldn't find any baby turtle noises."
"And they responded to this?"
"Oh yeah, like mama gators coming to protect their young. When the guys are like this, they jump between being super horny and being all soft and sighing wistfully because they're a little baby crazy. I've been trying different animal sounds on them to see what happens. Most other mammals don't do much. Leo poked his head out when I played baby chicks once. I got both Raph and Mikey when I played crying kittens. I played human babies crying and got nothing. They were actually annoyed and told me to turn it off. So far, the gator call has been the winner. I guess it's something in their lizard brain that responds to other reptiles."
"Interesting."
"Also, I've been informed that the PC term for what's going on with them should now be referred to as their 'Spring Cycle.' I accused them of being in heat and they got Big Mad. When I said it was your words, not mine, I was banned from the lair. I'm not allowed back until the end of May."
Mona snorted. "You got banned?"
April smirked back. "It won't stick. They'll miss me."
"Seems you're a fuck around and find out girl, too."
"Always. That's what makes me a good reporter. What about you? Any good texts?"
"Not really. I don't think Michelangelo and Raphael even have my number. I did get a weird text from Donatello about bees and pollination or something. It rambled a lot."
"Pollination. Wow. Coming from Donnie, that's practically smut. Congratulations on your first thirsty turtle text."
"I feel honored."
"I'm sure it will get worse next year. Here's the ones I've been getting."
April passed over her phone and Mona scrolled through the absolute walls of text that was message after message from Michelangelo.
"Wow, is he writing you an entire novel of smut?"
"He's sure doing his best. This year's a little classier than last."
April reached back for her phone, but Mona wasn't ready to give it up. She wanted to take in a few of these nuggets of absolute horny desperation.
Then, her phone pinged. Which she was not expecting. Curious, she returned April's so she could take a look at her own.
"Oh my God."
"What?" April asked with slight alarm. "What happened?"
"Leonardo just texted me."
"Oh my God. What does it say?"
Mona read the text, her face feeling hot. She then showed the screen to April.
The text was simple: I need you so badly right now.
"Oh my God!" April repeated. "Now that's a thirst text. Leo should give lessons."
Mona stared at the text. Read it over and over. Her cheeks remained rosy warm. Her fingers twitched on the keypad.
"Mona, don't you dare text him back," April warned.
"I'm not," she insisted. Though in truth, she wanted to.
"I swear to God, do not reply to that."
"I said I'm not!" she shot back.
"Good, the best you can do is leave it be until their 'cycle,'" she made air quotes with her fingers "has run its course."
.
In the end, she didn't return the text, but she thought about it all day. It distracted her as she tried to run errands and do laundry. As her new boss asked her to run to the office for a few things, even though it was a weekend. With all the extra tasks her employer kept piling on, April had commented she sounded more like a personal assistant than a secretary.
"Yeah, it's moving in that direction for sure," Mona had replied.
"Then you better be getting a raise for all that extra off the clock responsibility."
The thing was that she was being paid very well. More money from one job than she had ever made in her life. In fact, she had plans to move to a larger apartment after a few months of saving. One with a balcony to make it easier for turtle visitors to slip inside. If this job let her accomplish that, she was more than happy to run the odd errand now and then.
On her way back home she noticed a particular man on the subway kept staring at her. It was enough to break her out of the rose-colored stupor left in the wake of Leonardo's text. She felt observed, targeted—despite the constant beratements to herself that she was being paranoid.
Still, when the train reached her stop, she waited to see if the man was planning to get off here, too. It seemed he wasn't. At the very last second, she darted out before the doors closed, pretending she hadn't realized this was where she was supposed to get off. She thought she lost him, but a glance back as she went up the stairs found him following after her.
That was all the proof she needed to know she was being targeted. Her heart thundered as she picked up the pace, trying surreptitiously to see if he would follow. Every turn she took, he took as well. She quickly ducked into a cafe and pretended to look at the menu. The man did not come in, but she could see him lurking outside by the window. Maybe if she lingered within, he would give up and leave. So she ordered herself a coffee and found a table. The man outside lit a cigarette and continued to loiter. This wasn't a good sign.
She drank her coffee slowly, making a big show of taking her time and playing with her phone like she had nowhere important to be. Forty-five minutes and he was still waiting for her. She wanted to cry. What was she supposed to do? Make a big scene? She hated catching people's attention or bothering them. And the man could just say he was minding his own business and she was crazy. Same if she called the police. What could she report him for?
There had to be a way out of this. Something simple and quiet. She just wanted to get home safe without this stranger finding out where she lived. She wanted to talk to Leonardo—needed to talk to him. He couldn't help. It wasn't like he could just show up on the street and tell this dude to fuck off. But he had a way of calming her down by voice alone. If she could get past the panic, she knew she could think rationally enough to come up with a solution.
She called his number. The phone rang and rang. No one picked up. She tried again: nothing. Shaking her leg in agitation, she bit her lip. It was late afternoon. April would be at work broadcasting the news. Unless she wanted to hide in there until close, April couldn't help her either. She tried a different number.
"You called Donatello," answered a chipper voice in a professional tone. "How may I help you?"
The bright and instant response threw her for a second, but she managed a response. "Hey, um, do you know where Leo is? He's not answering his phone."
Then came the hesitance. "Uh...not sure. Maybe he's not up to talking right now. You might still want to give him a few days."
Mona felt her face heat with embarrassment. Of course he was avoiding her on purpose. They were all hormonal, cranky and miserable down there. Donatello himself now sounded like he wasn't up for conversation either. She was so stupid to be pestering any of them.
"Right, sorry." She tried to laugh, but the sound came out strained. "I shouldn't have called. So sorry to have bothered you. I wasn't thinking."
"Are you okay? You sound...distressed."
She was sinking. That inky, black feeling that she hadn't felt since before Leonardo slunk back in. You are alone it said as it climbed back into her heart. No one helps you.
Though the words came from her, they stung. It was the mantra of her life. Everything she did, she did on her own. No one helped. She took care of her own shit.
"Sorry, don't worry about it. I'll talk to you later." She hung up on him with a crushing feeling in her chest. It sucked to do everything alone. But she should have been used to it. Why the pity party now?
Stop being a baby and take care of your own shit.
She glanced up at the window. The man was still there. Their eyes met. He wasn't afraid at all to let her know he was watching. It both terrified her and pissed her off.
I should just go out there and confront him, ask him why he's following me, she thought. That would throw him off his game. He's probably used to women being scared of him.
But what if he has a knife, a second inner voice reasoned. What if you get stabbed?
Being stabbed would suck. She most definitely did not want to do any of that. Being stabbed seemed like a bad time all around.
Her break in sanity was interrupted as her phone vibrated on the table. The caller ID said it was Donatello. God. She didn't want to talk to him, yet she answered.
"Hi?" she asked in an uncertain tone.
"Hey," came a more hesitant Donatello voice this time around. "I felt like I should call you back. Like maybe you needed someone to talk to?"
She rested her forehead on her palm with an internal sigh. I need someone to talk me out of possibly getting stabbed.
"No, don't worry about it. You can't help me. I'm just trapped in this coffee shop and I started spiraling I think."
"What do you mean trapped?"
She sighed audibly, feeling stupid, feeling weak and pathetic. "Some guy followed me from the subway. I've been holed up in this place for an hour hoping he'd go away but he's still hanging around outside."
"Say no more. I'll get the guys. Do not leave that store until I call you again."
"What?" she hissed at the phone. "What do you mean you'll get the guys? Donatello!"
This time, he had been the one to end the call and she was left staring at a dead phone. What had just happened? As much as she would have paid money to see that jackass outside be confronted with four giant angry mutant turtles, she doubted that was what was going to happen. What was she supposed to do now? Just wait for Donatello's call?
"Do you need anything else, hun?" the waitress at the counter called. "You've been here a while. You alright?"
Now was her chance. She could say there was some creepy dude outside waiting for her. But now she was curious for that phone call.
"Oh, no. I'm waiting for someone," her dumb mouth said.
The waitress gave her a sympathetic look. Of course she would. Mona had already been there an hour by herself. She looked like she had been stood up for a date. Just tell her why you're hiding in here. But she wouldn't. Because then she would be a bother. She tried to go through life taking care of herself and not being a burden to anyone.
Except she had bothered a nest of hormonal turtles instead of dealing with her own problems. Because mutant turtles had magically made her forget for just a moment that she needed to take care of things on her own. That was how her life worked. When things came at her, she did for herself, she took care of herself. That was why Leonardo from before worked. He just appeared at her window once a week. Never more a part of her life besides that. Never made her think she could drop the ball on looking out for herself.
Not until this romance developed. Then her first thought at the hint of danger was to call him. Someone who couldn't even go out in the city in the daytime. Why did she ever think of such a cruel thing as telling Leonardo she had a problem when he couldn't help her? God, she was an idiot.
Twenty-minutes into her internal self-loathing, her phone rang again.
"We're here," Donatello's voice informed her.
"Outside the shop?" she asked, looking out the window. She half expected to see them standing there, waving at her like some fever dream. "How did you know where I was? I didn't tell you."
"I put a tracking app on your phone," Donatello informed her without apology.
When did he do that? "Not creepy at all," she responded.
"Glad you think so. Please feel free to leave the building. You'll want to turn left when you walk out the door."
She blinked for a moment. What did they do? A look at the window again and she couldn't find her stalker. Did they...do something to him? She walked to the door as if on automatic, but as she reached it, she saw him. He was still there, though he had hunched away out of sight from where she had been sitting. He had been trying to trick her into leaving.
Her heart kicked into overdrive once more. They locked eyes as she walked out. He was only a few yards away. If he attacked her now, he could reach her.
"Turn left," Donatello's calm voice reminded.
She did as she was told, happy to walk the opposite direction of this man, though her back burned, knowing he would follow.
"Turn again into that alley and we'll do the rest."
She came upon the side of the building, the alley next to it empty at first glance. "What are you going to—"
The last word was stolen from her breath as she felt arms around her and was whisked high into the air. The sound of some sort of zip line caught her ear as she was suddenly at the top of a four-story building. In the arms of what turned out to be Michelangelo as he passed her over to Donatello, who helped her up onto the roof.
Raphael was also there, his bulk leaning over the side. "Hey you creepy fucker! Get the fuck outta here, you fucking perv!"
Mona glanced over the side as he threw what she guessed were small pebbles with absolute arrow precision at the man below. They pinged off the side of the wall and the man ducked as if he were being fired at and quickly fled.
"There, all taken care of," Raphael announced proudly, dusting off his hands.
"Full turtle service, as you requested," Michelangelo said.
"Wow," Mona managed to get out after a few blinks. "Five stars."
Michelangelo gave a formal bow with the fluttering of one hand.
"Uh...where's Leo?" she then asked.
Raphael shrugged. "Dunno. Couldn't find him."
"Is he okay?"
"Probably. Leo does his own thing."
Mona didn't know what to say to that. She didn't know what to do with these three turtles. From April's descriptions, she expected to see turtles who were disheveled and sweaty, breathing uncomfortably hard in her ear. These three looked as normal as they ever did.
"So..." Michelangelo ventured in the following silence as he rocked back on his heels. "You wanna hang out?"
.
Hell yes Mona wanted to hang out with Leonardo's brothers. Even though it was getting dark and a strong wind was kicking up, if they would have her she would happily spend as much time with them as she could. They took her across town via being carried by Raphael; draped over his shoulder while she clung awkwardly to his neck. And she thought Leonardo could carry her effortlessly. Raphael held her in one arm as he jumped from building to building, climbing fire escapes and sliding down slanted roofs. He wasn't even winded.
Mona was a more than a little wind-swept when she was finally set down at their destination: a dark and dormant building in a more empty side of town. On the roof was a turtle-made skate park where Michelangelo immediately pulled out the skateboard strapped to his shell and proceeded to ride it over the different ramps and jumps.
"This is all for you? No one else comes up here?" Mona asked.
"The door's rusted shut," Donatello said. "No one's tried to open it yet that we know of. And not a lot of people around this area to hear us."
"Used to have a lot of crime here, too," Raphael added with a bit of pride. "Not no more."
"You guys know this city pretty well, huh?" Mona realized. "But instead of knowing the street level, you know all the roofs and the sewer system."
"Only city we've ever known," Raphael confirmed. "Probably live our whole lives here."
A strong wind came in and blew through them, though the air was warm and welcome. The Spring season was blowing in and it whipped Mona's hair all over her face. She tried to gather it up, but she didn't have anything to tie it back with.
"No worries, I got you," Michelangelo said as he came in. He kicked his skateboard over to Donatello. "Turn around."
She did so and he ran his fingers through her hair, gathering it up.
"Girl, you have so much hair."
"Yeah, I'm aware."
She heard him chuckle close to her ear as he began braiding. A giant mutant turtles was fucking french braiding her hair on a rooftop. Her life was fantastic.
"Tell me honestly," she said. "Was my phone call a bother to you guys?"
Raphael had been watching off the side of the roof as if he was looking for something specific. He whipped his head around at her, surprised at the question. "Nah. More like a distraction."
"A very welcome and lovely distraction," Michelangelo added with a chirp.
Did he actually make a chirpy noise? She wasn't entirely sure.
She glanced at the side for Donatello who was nearby, doing stationary tricks on the skateboard. It was a miracle that thing could hold their weight. He didn't say anything, which was typical for him. He seemed to let Raphael and Michelangelo do the talking unless he had pertinent information to disburse. Which was unfortunate. He was a great conversationalist.
"Food's here," Raphael announced and disappeared off the building.
Michelangelo reached the end of the braid and tore off the tip of his worn, orange mask tail to tie it off. Mona used the front-facing camera on her phone like a mirror to check his work.
"Very nice, Mikey. Thank you,"
Raphael climbed back up to the roof, soda and pizzas in hand as a delivery driver drove away on the street below. Food ordering apps were a mutant turtle's best friend.
"Ah, pizza again," Mona joked.
Raphael froze as if he had been caught doing something wrong. "You don't want this? I'll get you something else."
She expected him to give her a snarky response; tell her to shut up and eat what he got. She wasn't prepared for him to look so anxious at her comment.
"No, it's fine. You don't have to."
"I really want ta feed ya, though. I can get ya whatever you want. You don't have to eat this."
"Raph, I'm just giving you shit," Mona told him with a sideways smile.
The large turtle's body language relaxed like he had just dodged a bullet. What was up with him being so sensitive all of a sudden? To prove her point, Mona reach right in and grabbed herself a slice and Raphael finally looked satisfied.
They ate together with light, companionable conversation and Mona found herself utterly enchanted by all three of them. They all smiled at her, clearly delighted with her company, with any time she interacted with one of them. They were always moving; touching her, brushing past her purposefully so the skin of their arms would make contact with her. They constantly checked on her: did she get enough to eat, was she warm enough. Michelangelo kept tucking wayward strands pulled out by the wind back into her braid. Donatello pulled her hoodie tighter over her shoulders to make sure she was warm. Raphael would lean in and talk to her in low, calm tones. A tone he didn't normally use when talking to her.
And by now, all of them were chirping. Raphael, she noticed would actively try to stop himself now and again from making those noises. The other two either didn't notice or didn't care that they were being adorable, chirpy little birds while they talked to her.
Nothing about the way they acted was sexual, but there was a romance to it. There was a flirty feeling in the air between all of them, one she found herself getting swept up in. And that was when she realized what was going on.
This is courtship behavior. With that revelation, something pinged in her brain and she fished her phone from her pocket. Excusing herself from the group, she wandered over to the side of the building and texted April.
I know why Leo cleans and Raph moves the furniture around. They're nesting.
Even as she sent the text she was awed by it. They weren't human. They were cognizant beings but still directed by latent primal instincts. And those instincts endeared them to her even more.
"You alright?" Raphael asked as he came closer to her wide-eyed expression.
She shook herself from watching Donatello and Michelangelo play around on the skate ramps. "Uh yeah, I just find you guys really adorable with all your chirping."
Raphael frowned a little, but didn't look too offended. "Yeah, April gives us a lot of shit about that, among other things."
"Oh, I know. I've heard all about it."
He smirked and then leaned in closer as he noticed something by the glow of the nearby street light. "Huh. You got freckles. I never noticed that before. Can't say I've ever looked too hard at your face."
"But you're looking hard tonight," she teased back, to which he looked a little embarrassed and leaned away.
"Sorry about before," Raphael then said awkwardly. "About sucker punching you last time in the face and how I nearly drove a sai into your brain. I don't think I ever really apologized."
She waved him off. "Eh, I probably could have walked it off."
He smirked. "You're funny. Does Leo know you're this funny?"
"Of course he does. That's how I bagged him."
"I thought it was all the cooking."
"He knows I'm hilarious."
"Actually, he told me you think you're funny. Not that he thinks you're funny."
"Ha! What a dick!" she grinned.
Raphael outright snorted. "You make him happy, you know. I've never seen him this happy. He's a dumbass for disappearing instead of coming with us to hang out with you."
"This has been nice, actually, to talk to you guys without him. It feels like he has this need to be a shield between you three and me. And his need to supervise effects how all of you act around me. So this has been really refreshing. I hope you guys just don't think of me as this entity that only exists when Leo's around."
Raphael nodded thoughtfully as he watched his brothers. Maybe they all had been thinking of her that way. She wasn't a person, just this human Leonardo kept close to his side. But that perspective was starting to change.
.
Leonardo had spent most of the day running form his demons. Literally. During the day, he could keep the obtrusive thoughts at bay; keep his brain focused and disciplined. It was at night when the dreams caught up to him. He dreamed of Mona Lisa. He dreamed of Karai. Of being with them separately, Of having them at the same time. Sometimes they were doing things to him, sometimes they were doing things to each other while he watched. Their wanton, needy cries echoed in his brain.
He woke up hard and covered in sweat. Horny as hell and confused at his own psyche. There had been other sexually graphic dreams, some that he had actually enjoyed. But none that stressed him out like this one had. He did not like the idea of Karai's and Mona Lisa's world ever colliding. Yet, thinking about that dream, with both of them in it, made him hot and bothered all over again. With a groan, he force himself out of bed, eager to focus his mind on something else.
He jerked off in the shower—something did not particularly enjoy doing—and stepped out to face the day with certain trepidation in his chest. He had never gone through the spring cycle while having a girlfriend. And he was ashamed he had never brought himself to talk to her about it before it started. Even though it seemed April had done that job for him—though irreverently so—he still wished he could have spoken to her. Set certain rules and expectations. But he also hated every time he had to remind her that he was an animal first in origin. And even though he was practiced, educated, disciplined, he was still a slave to the baser side of himself.
That baser side won out as he was toweling off from his shower, imagining Mona was there with him. Toweling him down, touching him all over. His resolve weakened. He texted her. He told her how much he needed her and he was growing hard again at the thought. As soon as he hit send, he panicked. Shit! No! Why the hell did he send that? He wanted to throw the phone in the garbage disposal, as if destroying it would erase his actions. Instead, he hid the phone under a pile of clothes; mortified at the thought of any sort of reply from her. Then he fled his room.
He tried to distract himself with tasks so he could forget what he had just done. But his bedroom was impeccably clean, the dojo immaculate. By now, so were the kitchen and main living areas. He was tempted to barge into Michelangelo's room and force-clean that hazard area. Though Michelangelo had locked himself in his room since the night before doing God knows what in there.
He took to training to work off the shame. But with his brothers indisposed with their own coping techniques, He was stuck doing katas and fighting imaginary opponents. Nothing to keep his mind occupied as his body went through the familiar motions; strong graceful. Reminding him he was agile, flexible, toned; in the best shape of his life. He was virile, male. And God, he wanted to show Mona he was all those things. He wanted to take her up against the wall. He wanted to rub his entire body all over her. He wanted to make her scream his name as he fucked the life out of her.
With a frustrated cry, Leonardo almost threw his katana across the room. This wasn't working. His hormones were still all out of control, dictating his thoughts. Making his body react with a starving need that was getting harder and harder to ignore.
So he went running. And Leonardo could run forever as if he were a sled dog and running was his job. A mile for every dirty thought. That would keep him running through the dark sewers all day.
He returned home in the evening, covered in sweat, muscles hot and trembling. He showered again and his body was too tired to get aroused. At least for the moment. Good. Even a few minutes of reprieve was welcome. Starved, he raided the pantry and ate nearly everything he came across that required no prep work.
He wandered around the lair with a sleeve of saltines looking for his brothers. The lair was empty and quiet.
"Dad, where's the guys?" he asked as he poked his head into Splinter's room.
"I'm not sure," the rat replied. "They came looking for you earlier and then they all left in quite a hurry."
Leonardo looked confused. Why would they go out?
"Was it the Foot?"
"I don't think so. It didn't seem to be anything like that."
Leonardo continued to frown and Splinter said, "You can track them on your phone."
The thought of looking at his phone sent a physical, gut-reaction of revulsion through him. He hadn't looked at it the entire day after that text. He wanted to forget he had ever done such a thing. He wanted to build a time machine and erase that action from all of history.
Splinter mistook his reaction for merely Leonardo's well-known aversion to having to use his phone.
"It's a very easy app to use. Here, I can teach you. Donatello showed me."
And now armed with new knowledge, Leonardo trudged back to his room and dug his phone out of its hiding place of shame. He wasn't sure what he would find on there, but the screen telling him he had missed two calls from Mona Lisa made his face heat up with mortification.
Then he noticed the time at which she had tried to contact him. It wasn't anywhere near the time he had texted her. She had called around the same time his brothers had left the lair. That didn't seem to be a coincidence. He opened the search app and went hunting.
.
While Raphael and Michelangelo were taking turns on the skate ramp, Mona noticed Donatello had moved off on his own. He leaned over the side of the building, arms folded over the lip of the edge. Excited that he was alone, Mona practically skipped on over to join him, leaning her back against the side, propped up on her elbows. He didn't seem to notice her at first. His eyes closed, his nose to the breeze. The brisk wind played with his purple mask tails.
"It smells good out here," he then spoke. "Smells like nature waking up. Smells like spring is here." He opened his eyes and glanced at her. "You smell good, too."
"Me?" she wondered, sniffing her clothes. "What do I smell like?"
Donatello blinked as if he had stumbled out of a stupor. "I mean...sorry. That was a weird thing to say. I was just caught up in the...you know. All the unbalanced hormones make everything smell good. Especially girls for obvious reasons."
"I bet. Don't even worry about it, Donnie. I don't mind being told I smell nice. Girls like to hear that kind of stuff."
His embarrassment seemed to melt away and he smiled at her. Then, for just a brief moment, he set his head on her shoulder. A silent thank you for accepting him for how he was before going back to taking in the smells of the city.
As she watched him, Mona contemplated her earlier conversation with April. Their jokes about other female turtles in the sewers and it suddenly seemed a waste that it wasn't true. There existed a unique species of male mutant turtle in the world with fully developed mating habits. Who engaged in courtship and nesting behavior. Who were precious about baby animal noises. Who had a drive to find companionship, but who also had no female counterparts of the same breed.
Despite the instincts Mother Nature had bestowed upon them, they would be the first and last generation of their kind. There was a great tragedy in this and Mona's heart echoed April's earlier sentiment. She hoped each would find someone who loved them for who they were.
"Shit," Donatello suddenly hissed and ducked down.
Mona only had time to look confused when he pulled her down and dragged her back to his brothers. For a moment, her heart filled with fear as she flashed back to that time during Christmas where they were confronted with the foot on that rooftop.
Then Donatello yell-whispered. "Leo found us!"
Mona wasn't sure why that was a big deal, but all three brothers suddenly scrambled off to hide, taking her with them. They ducked down for cover behind a ramp as their brother landed on the roof top. Leonardo looked around the seeming empty area, frowning.
"How did he find us?" Michelangelo whispered.
"He's got his phone out. He tracked us here," Donatello responded.
"I didn't know he even knew where his phone was," Raphael muttered.
Mona found this all amusing. This had to be silly brother stuff, hiding from him. There really was no reason to hide from Leonardo. As such, she let out a loud "Caw-CAW!" to which Raphael immediately slapped a hand over her mouth. Though she had all three bothers snickering at the same time from her dumb bird cry.
Leonardo poked his head around to see them. "What are you guys doing?"
"Hide and seek, bro!" Michelangelo chirped back, playing it cool.
Donatello and Raphael glanced guiltily at each other.
It was then Leonardo realized there was a smaller body among the hunched hulking turtle forms.
"You found us!" Mona exclaimed as she popped up. "I guess you win!"
He actually took a step back, as if she would strike out and bite him.
"We tried to find you before we left. You weren't anywhere around," Raphael said as he stood.
Leonardo's eyes flickered over his brothers. "Okay, but what are you doing OUT?"
At that question, Raphael got irritated. "We can go out whenever we want, Leo."
"You shouldn't have."
"Why? Just because our hormones are a little wack, doesn't mean we don't know how to control ourselves around people. Maybe that's a problem you have, but it's not mine."
"Then what are you doing here with my girlfriend?"
Mona's face warmed. She had never heard him refer to her as such in front of his family members before.
"Fuck off, Leo," Raphael shot back. "No one's trying to take your girl from you. She called you first and you didn't answer. So we came to help her out."
Leonardo's hormones were out of wack. He was having trouble finding the right emotional response to that as he glanced between Mona Lisa and his brothers. He did not like her calling them to take care of her needs, whatever it was she needed help with. He also did not like that they had taken care of it for her. That was his job.
He didn't even realize he was doing it until Mona tapped him on the arm with the back of her hand. "Don't growl at your brothers. They were perfect gentlemen."
Leonardo didn't want to stop growling. He wanted to establish that she was his. He wanted to put his scent all over her; claim her as his in every way he could think of. Hell, he'd do it in front of all of them so they would know who she belonged to.
The growl came back as quickly as it left. A deep rumble in his chest that came with the urge to bare his teeth at the other males.
"Leonardo!" Mona admonished again.
"Nah, don't worry about it," Michelangelo said as he backed up, palms up in a placating gesture. "He's not going to stop until we leave, so we're gonna bail."
"It's not his fault," Donatello called as he too retreated.
Raphael lingered, meeting Leonardo's warning gaze with a cocky smirk. If Leonardo had hackles, they would have been up. Two male mutant turtles having a stare down over a lone female that wasn't even of their species. Only when Leonardo was properly irritated did Raphael slowly back away, still keeping eye contact. He eventually melted into the shadows and was gone.
Once all the males had left the area, Leonardo checked his girlfriend, who did not look impressed.
"Are you done posturing?"
He did not reply to the question. Instead he took in a long inhale and then said, "You smell like my brothers."
"Like their regular smell, or pheromones?"
Leonardo gave a stink face, wrinkling his nose. Mona remembered all the touches. The subtle brushing of the brothers, their skin against her. It seemed so innocent, but those little turkeys were slaves to the primal urge to mark as well.
"They were very pleasant to be around. Sweet as sugar. Chirping at me like cute little birds. You never chirped at me," she accused.
Leonardo continued to frown. "I'm going to take you home."
She put her hands on her hips. "I'm going to go home when I decide to go home."
He felt his temper flare and it took everything he had to keep it down. "You would prefer to stay here on this roof alone? I'd like to see you try to get down by yourself."
"You're not going to leave me here. You love me."
He did, but he was so not in the mood for this. He closed his eyes, trying to keep himself centered. "Please just let me take you home."
She moved to touch his arm and he actually jerked away from her. Surprised, she looked him over and found some of the signs April had told her about. He was twitchy with a sheen of sweat on his skin. Perhaps in a different phase of his "cycle" than his brothers at the moment.
"Are you struggling today, Leo?" she teased.
"Can we just go?" he complained, looking desperate.
"Why? Why are you so eager to get rid of me?"
He shifted nervously from one foot to the other, arms folded across his chest in a self-comforting way. "Look, it's really difficult to be next to you right now, but I want to make sure you get home safely."
She bit her lip. "Difficult how?"
He gave a disgruntled sound. "Because all I want to do is make you mine right now, but I really don't want our first time to be on a dirty roof. I also don't want to hurt you and I'm afraid I'm not currently in the right mind to keep control of myself."
Damn. He just told her straight up. That was hot. His pupils were blown wide. He looked like he was on the brink of losing what self control he had left. Mona pressed her hand to his chest and backed him up against the tallest skate ramp. His whole body went rigid at the treatment.
"What are you doing?"
She rubbed his chest, fingertips brushing the exposed skin at his sides. "Doing you a favor."
He trembled at her touch, overwhelmed by any stimulation. He could smell her and it threatened to pull him under. Yet, he still managed to gain control as she went for the waistband of his pants. Leonardo grabbed her wrist in a firm but gentle hold while a rumble escaped his chest.
"No."
She raised a brow at him. "Leo, I know you're horny as hell. Don't be so stubborn. You can trust me. Let me touch you."
God, he wanted this. His resolve was crumbling so fast. Gently, she tugged her hand from his grasp and slipped it into his pants. Lower, lower. To where his plastron ended and there was nothing else for her fingers to find.
"Leo," she admonished softly before reaching up to nuzzle his neck. "Let me touch you."
He growled; a needy sound she had not heard from him before. Then she felt him; hard, hot flesh sliding into her hand. Her fingers could barely make it around the girth of him. He wasn't kidding about the size. But she would worry about that another time. His pleasure was her only focus.
She stroked him slow and firm, and his knees immediately gave out with a groan. He slid down into a sit, legs splayed and Mona followed, now kneeling next to him. She didn't let up as she blindly explored him by touch. The head felt different, like it had extra soft flesh. But the tip was firm. When she ran her thumb over it, Leonardo arched with a wanton cry.
Damn. She loved seeing him like this. Squirming, sweaty, desperate. It wasn't even over and she knew she wanted to have him like this again. She moved in between his thighs as she continued to work him over. Leaning in, she nuzzled his neck before nipping at the flesh.
Another cry escaped him, strangled and whimpering.
"God, you're hot," she murmured into his skin. "It's okay that you want this. Just let go, Leo. I've got you."
Her hand moved faster and Leonardo threw his head back, letting out panting cries, one after another, as they both chased his release. He was so loud. His fists clenched at his sides, his thighs trembling, eyes screwed tight.
He came hard. So hard it almost hurt. And with it came more cries of desperate need that he couldn't control. All he could do was clutch Mona to him, nearly sobbing in her shoulder as he rode out his high. He was almost clutching her too hard, but she remained firm, still rubbing him as he trembled.
When it was over, he sat slumped and panting hard. Mona remained kneeling before him, watching with a small smile of pride on her face.
"You are still so pretty."
He draped an arm over his eyes with a heavy sigh, unwilling to look at her yet. She waiting patiently for him to come back down and he finally lowered his arm to reveal his tired face.
"Better?" she cheekily asked.
He probably would have managed to look annoyed if he wasn't so thoroughly spent. She was tempted to touch him, but she guessed he wasn't ready for more physical contact. Instead, she scooted back to sit and watch him.
It was a few more minutes before he finally spoke. "Sorry. I haven't been very communicative lately. You have been trying to make me feel comfortable with opening up to you and I haven't been reciprocating. I'm used to keeping a lot of things to myself. Not even sharing them with my family. But I shouldn't keep my feelings from my partner. And I should have told you about us—what happens to us during this time of year—so we could discuss it openly.
"To be honest, the amount of acceptance I get from you scares me sometimes. I never imagined I'd meet a human who keeps taking me as I am over and over again. I'm in awe of you, Mona Lisa. I love you."
His words warmed her down to her toes. Her heart melted for him and swelled with love for this amazing person in her life.
But her dumbass mouth always had to take the sassy route.
"Wow. All of that, and all it cost me was a hand job."
He blinked at her. Then burst out laughing. It was a freeing, cathartic noise. Like he had needed this laugh for a long time. His pure laughter was such a beautiful sound. Mona was beaming. She loved seeing him happy. She just loved him—and all of his quirky, turtley ways.
When the laughter died down and Leonardo was able to breathe again, he said with a smile, "May I please escort you home?"
.
He said he wouldn't be coming inside the apartment that night. Leonardo was still more comfortable down in the lair while his cycle ran its course. Yet, when Mona stepped into her apartment, there was a knock at her window.
"Forget something?" as she opened it.
His eyes swept over her as he leaned on the window sill; serene and adoring. "I just wanted to look at you in the light before I go."
She leaned in. "Who replaced my cranky boyfriend with this sweet turtle?"
He chirped at her and she was absolutely delighted by the sound.
"Are you sure you don't want to come in?"
Even though his hand now touched hers, he said, "I'd better not. If I got you in bed I don't think I'd be able to let you go for a few days."
"DAYS?!" she squealed with a laugh.
She expected him to cringe at her outburst, but all he had for her was a soft smile and bedroom eyes.
He leaned in and they kissed. He cupped the back of her head, taking the kiss deeper. Touching the tip of his tongue with hers. She could feel his desire, his need through the kiss. It brought a sweet whimper from her own throat as she gripped his shoulders, pulling him in. But he would never fit through that window. Tragic. Maybe it was his own pheromones mixing with hers, but that kiss, the smell of him made her want him in the worst way.
His chest rumbled and she was so, so tempted just to climb out the window to get to him. But reluctantly, he pulled away before he could bewitch her further.
"A chirp and some purrs," she grinned. "It's my lucky day."
He smiled back, though some of his self-consciousness was returning. "About that text I sent you; you can delete that."
"Never," she shot back happily. "It's my favorite thing you've ever given me."
He looked amused. "Then I guess you're welcome."
She kissed him again, quickly this time. "Take care of yourself. And for the love of God, learn to use your fucking phone and call me when you're ready for my company."
He chuckled. "I'll do my best."
With that, he did not allow himself to linger further, lest he lose the last of his control. One last longing look and he disappeared into the shadows of night.